Zi JI froze in place.
Beneath her purple dress, the Black Silk Bodysuit kept tightening,
its sticky touch clung to her skin and slowly writhed, as though someone were running their hands from her neck all the way down to her ankles.
She gritted her teeth, ready to lash out, but realized that everyone present was looking at her.
In front of their master, she didn't dare move.
"Master... this subordinate has lost her composure."
She hurriedly lowered her head.
But the bodysuit gave her no chance to save face. It continued to tighten slowly,
and she could only grit her teeth and endure the shame.
So it turns out you're pretty cute too, Zi JI. Jiang Ce's strange, cackling voice sounded in her mind.
Zi JI ground her teeth.
That bastard was deliberately teasing her.
Gu Yuena withdrew her gaze and looked at the tentacle on her shoulder. Her voice was cool and calm. "Once I recover from my injuries, you want to lead a counterattack against the Divine Realm?"
"Of course. Your injuries haven't even healed, and you're already itching to rush over and beat them up?"
"What we need to do now is stockpile provisions and bide our time. Once all our advantages are in place, that will be the day we counterattack."
"Stockpile provisions and bide our time."
Gu Yuena's eyes gradually lit up.
"Tell me, how fast do humans grow?"
Jiang Ce suddenly changed the subject.
Gu Yuena furrowed her brow. She wasn't sure.
Di Tian spoke up at just the right moment. "Those with exceptional talent can become Titled Douluo in a mere few decades.
The strongest Titled Douluo can match a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."
"How long does it take a Soul Beast to grow into one of those?"
Di Tian opened his mouth, but had no answer.
"How do Soul Beasts grow? Those with strong bloodlines devour one another and, if they're lucky, live to a thousand years.
To reach a hundred thousand years takes tens of thousands of years at minimum.
Not every Soul Beast has the bloodline of a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, which can match a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast despite living only ten thousand years."
"Humans have sects, armies, and teamwork.
In a one-on-one fight at the same level, Soul Beasts would win. But humans never fight one-on-one—
if three aren't enough, they send ten. They use tactics and pile on resources.
Humanity's advantages are already taking shape.
Humans grew from a weak species into a force spread across the entire continent.
Your territory is being nibbled away inch by inch, while Soul Beasts are still fighting among themselves over their own patches of land."
As he listened to Jiang Che, Di Tian stared blankly.
He had guarded Life Lake for tens of thousands of years, watched humans emerge, then seen them grow from weaklings into hunters capable of Carnage against Soul Beasts.
Humans had even produced a Peerless Douluo at level ninety-nine.
The Soul Beasts, meanwhile, were still the same as ever.
They hadn't advanced in the slightest all these years.
"Humans have short growth cycles. Those with good talent can reach Titled Douluo in a few decades.
Soul Beasts slowly slog through a hundred or a thousand years at a time. By the time you've grown up, humans have already trained another generation of strong fighters.
Worse still—humans know how to distribute resources, while Soul Beasts only know how to kill one another."
"Your subjects rely on instinct to survive. They have no cultivation methods, no resource allocation, no organized cooperation.
If they want to get stronger, they devour one another. If they're lucky, they break through; if they're unlucky, they're trampled to death.
You call that a race? That's a herd left to fend for itself."
The tentacle pointed at Di Tian. "Di Tian, outside the Core Circle of the Star Dou Great Forest, where are the Soul Beasts over seventy thousand years old? What attributes do they specialize in? Tell me everything."
Di Tian opened his mouth, but had no answer.
"You can't tell me, because you've never thought about managing them.
Your duty is to guard the Core Area. You don't care whether the outer regions live or die.
But Silver Dragon King—you keep calling Soul Beasts your subjects.
They're being hunted out there, torn apart by their own kind, and getting stuck at bottlenecks because they can't find suitable environments.
You've slept at the bottom of the lake for tens of thousands of years. Have you ever cared?"
"You've relied on your noble bloodlines and never spared a thought for the lives of those at the bottom.
Humans are different. They band together, support one another, and build a civilization.
They pass things down from generation to generation, grow stronger from weakness, and accumulate advantages."
Gu Yuena, Di Tian, and the Silver Dragon King all fell silent.
"So what you need to do is gather them all under your command and turn them from a scattered herd into a unified force.
Bring in those over fifty thousand years old and assign them territories according to their attributes.
The auras of those with the same attribute will stimulate one another, doubling their cultivation speed while minimizing infighting."
"Second—why can humans develop so quickly?
Sect legacies, pills and supplies, teamwork.
Your Soul Beasts have nothing but claws and fangs.
Starting today, open up the Core Area's resources. Distribute the spirit herbs, spirit springs, and all the world's energy.
But don't hand them out for free—those who cultivate faster and fight better at the same level get the most.
Make them compete. Make them grow stronger!
Don't let them stay a scattered mess like before."
"Third—forbid high-level Soul Beasts from killing one another.
Humans would love nothing more than to see two hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts cripple each other over a patch of forest, then have a passing Titled Douluo finish them both off.
Starting today, those on the same side are forbidden to fight among themselves.
Zi JI or Di Tian will settle any disputes.
If they refuse to accept the verdict, beat them until they do. If they still refuse, drive them out."
Di Tian raised his head and was about to speak, but the Silver Dragon King raised a hand to stop him. "Let him finish."
"You can't raise an army by leaving everyone to fend for themselves. To build an army, you have to bring them together and train them.
Then you'll see a Soul Beast army capable of fighting hard battles—not this scattered mess."
The tentacle withdrew from the Silver Dragon King's shoulder and merged back into the Black Silk Bodysuit.
The Silver Dragon King was silent for a long time.
"Di Tian, fortify the Core Area and open up the resources in the outer regions.
Zi JI, gather the Soul Beasts in the outer regions under your command.
Deal with anyone who refuses, as he said."
Di Tian's golden dragon eyes were filled with complicated emotions.
At last, he spread his Dragon Wings and flew toward the Core Area.
Zi JI spread her Dragon Wings too and flew in the opposite direction.
But after flying a few miles, she couldn't help squeezing a curse through her teeth.
"Bastard, could you stop moving around so much?"
Instead, Jiang Ce's strange, cackling laughter rang out.
"And what about you? You've explained the plight of Soul Beasts. What are you planning to do?"
"I feel like you have another agenda."
The Silver Dragon King was growing more and more curious about Jiang Ce.
"You unify the Soul Beasts, and I'll unify humanity." Jiang Ce's voice came from the tentacle.
"Then won't this entire planet be in the palm of our hands?
We'll combine the strength of the whole planet and make it more prosperous."
"What do you think will happen to this plane?"
"You mean..." The Silver Dragon King's pupils contracted.
"Plane ascension."
"Plane ascension is no easy feat."
"Isn't that what we're doing right now?
We'll consolidate the resources of humans and Soul Beasts and establish a new internal energy circulation system.
This world will no longer consume itself from within.
Then we'll unite the Plane Master and the Life Core to awaken the will of the plane.
And create a Life Ancient Tree—
the hub of this world, absorbing Cosmic Energy and giving it back to the entire world."
Hearing how grand Jiang Ce's plans were, the Silver Dragon King could hardly imagine it.
She was still thinking about taking revenge on the Divine Realm once she recovered,
while he was thinking about uniting all their forces, awakening the will of this planet, and achieving plane ascension.
He wanted to turn this world into another Divine Realm.
But why did it feel so familiar?
The Silver Dragon King felt that this kind of ascension was all too familiar.
A hazy memory surfaced, and her brow furrowed. Draw upon Cosmic Energy and ascend, the Divine Dragon Domain—
wasn't that what the Dragon God had done?
"After my death, Soul Beasts must not become gods."
Suddenly, a vast rush of memories surged into her mind. The Silver Dragon King's eyes widened.
"The decree forbidding Soul Beasts from becoming gods... was it issued by the Dragon God?"
She felt dizzy.
Ever since the Dragon God had been slain and split into two halves, the Golden Dragon King and Silver Dragon King,
her divine core had been damaged, her memories muddled, and some of them lost.
But now, Jiang Ce had caused her to remember.
"You're going to repeat the Dragon God's mistakes." The Silver Dragon King stared at the tentacle beside her.
"You couldn't be more wrong." Jiang Ce's confident voice rang out.
"Of course it's because the Dragon God made a mistake."
"The Dragon God made a mistake?"
Gu Yuena's heart shook.
"How could that be?!"
I fell asleep. It's late. I'll continue tomorrow.
I'm terribly sorry, everyone.
[By the way, I wanted to ask you all something. Do you think we should have Qian Renxue reincarnate or something?
Or have Qian Renxue come to this world,
only to discover that it's the world of her mother's youth.
Then she finds out that her father isn't Qian Xunji.
And her mother has been trained,
and, with Qian Renxue's communications, we could set up a later invasion of another Douluo Planet,
suppress another Tang San,
and seize the world's origin. How does that sound?
Hehe.
Everyone, feel free to share your thoughts!]
Before you continue